Large hospitals staff their ICUs with 24/7 intensivists but smaller facilities rely on tele-ICU systems that provide specialist help as needed. The eCare program being implemented at BayCare, which includes 14 Florida hospitals, has led to reductions in ICU lengths of stay and complications, along with greater physician, patient and family satisfaction.

Related Summaries

Baptist Health Corbin in Kentucky has contracted for tele-ICU services, including around-the-clock oversight of ICU patients by a team of intensivists. It is the first of eight main Baptist Health System hospitals to have a tele-ICU agreement with Advanced ICU Care.

Telemedicine may be a good option for ICUs as U.S. hospitals face increased patient volumes and a shortage of intensivists, according to data from Eagle Telemedicine. Data showed 500,000 patients are monitored annually by tele-ICU systems, which reduced the need for traditional intensivist staffing by 75% at one hospital.

Dignity Health Woodland Memorial Hospital could not afford to maintain its ICU and hire additional intensivists, so switching to a tele-ICU was a cost-effective alternative, officials told the American Hospital Association annual meeting. The traditional ICU had cost the small community hospital $100,000 per bed, compared with $30,000 per bed for the tele-ICU, and the change has led to reductions in mortality, re-intubation and transfer rates.

Community hospitals that are part of the tele-ICU service Maryland eCare have a direct link to intensivists, and staff say it has improved care and saved lives. eCare medical director Marc Zubrow said telemedicine technology does not get in the way of getting close to families, and related how one intensivist counseled a women that her mother's condition would not improve with additional medical treatment and urged her to allow caregivers to focus on treating pain and suffering.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' Certification Corporation created a certification exam for tele-ICU nurses that requires work practice in the tele-ICU or a combination of direct bedside and tele-ICU nursing experience. "Nurses who work in tele-ICUs have significant influence on the care, safety and outcomes of acutely and critically ill patients. The CCRN-E certification exam helps to validate the knowledge required for that practice," said Karen Harvey, a certification programs specialist.